Carin Oliver - Cat Castles: 20 Cardboard Habitats You Can Build Yourself

If you share your home with a cat, then you know that cats are experts at relaxing .

C ats have figured out whats important: a little place to call their own, a good perch from which to survey their domain, and a comfy place to take a nap followed by a nice stretch. But although they are great at snoozing, napping, lazing, taking it easy, drowsing, dozing, lolling, lounging, loafing, idling, unwinding, resting, hanging loose, and hanging out, they are not great at arts and crafts. Thats where you come in.

The projects presented here are hideouts, lounges, and accessories that you can make yourself and customize to your and your cats liking. Sure, you could go to a pet store and purchase accessories for your cat, but making them yourself has several benefits: you get the pleasure of making something with your hands, you save moneyparticularly if you use materials you have around the houseand you can create something unique that suits you and your cat perfectly.

Creating custom items for your feline friends is a great way to bond with them and get to know them better. To make a hangout that is ideally suited for your cat, you will have to consider not only physical elements, like size, but also personality traits and preferences. Does your cat like to snooze in dark spaces? Or would she rather be perched on top of a stack of boxes? Once you build a project and let your cat try it out, you can continue to change and customize it: doors can be made bigger, windows installed, pillows added. Hopefully, once youve built a few of these projects, youll be inspired to create cat castles of your own design.

When did it all begin?

Cats have been human companions for thousands of years. It is believed that cats first wandered into human settlements when people began farming and storing grain. The grain attracted rodents, and the rodents attracted cats, who made themselves useful by exterminating the rodents. Although it may have started out utilitarian, nowadays the humanfeline relationship is different. Most house cats live pampered lives, with no requirement that they earn their keep. They do still provide benefits to usobviouslyless tangible yet much needed ones: comfort, companionship, and love.

Design tips

Make it the right size. Before you start making projects, see what size space your cat likes to hang out in by offering her three boxes of different sizes with doors cut in them. You can also test to find your cats preferred door size by cutting the options into an old box.